Martin Luther King Jr. family home is added to national park

January 24, 2019 - 2:08 PM

ATLANTA - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s family home on Atlanta's west side will now become part of the federal park in Atlanta that includes sites such as the church where he preached and King's birth home.

The home in Atlanta's Vine City neighbourhood will be accessible to the public as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, The National Park Foundation announced Thursday.

The hope is that people will now gain "greater insight into my father holistically," Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . She is the youngest daughter of the King family.

The foundation purchased the home from Coretta Scott King's estate on Jan. 8 and then transferred it to the National Park Service.

The home is where the Kings raised their four children, the Atlanta newspaper reported. Other civil rights leaders also used the home as a place to discuss strategies aimed at bringing racial equality to the nation.

It could be at least a year before the public can view the home, as there is work to be done to make it ready for a large volume of visitors, park officials told the newspaper.